Warp beam



March 16, 1965 A. B. STOREY 3,173,624

WARP BEAM Filed Nov. 27,- 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l i .l. T m

March 16, 1965 Filed Nov. 27. 1959 A. B. STOREY WARP BEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Qflfre 3,173,524 Patented Mar. 16, 1965 3,173,624 WARP BEAM Alvin B. Storey, Charlotte, N.C., assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 855,868 6 Claims. (Cl. 242-118.61)

This invention rel-ates to warp beams, and in particular to light-weight tricot beams, as well as to a winding arbor therefor.

Warp or tricot beams as generally employed by the textile industry are bobbin or spool-like structures on which yarn to be woven or knitted into a fabric is wound and from which it may be unwound during a weaving or knitting operation. A beam of this type basically comprises a tubular barrel to the opposite ends of which are attached a pair of annular flanges or heads of considerably larger diameter than the outer diameter of the barrel. Special means are usually provided for removably aflixing the adjusted heads to the barrel, which means are, however, fairly complex and comprise a great number of separate parts, rendering the assembly, adjustment and disassembly of the beams difficult and time-consuming.

Another disadvantage attendant the use of the known constructions of the aforesaid type is that such beams are necessarily quite heavy. This. is a serious drawback especially where shipment of the beams in international trade is involved, since in such cases the costs of the shipment depend on the total weight of the beams and the yarn wound thereon. The larger weight of the beams is likewise a further disadvantage in the reshipment of the empty beams from the yarn user to the yarn manufacturer.

Still another disadvantage attendant the use of the known beam constructions is that the complicated nature of the beam-adjusting and aflixing means effectively makes disconnection of the heads or flanges from the barrel cumbersome and impractical. Since the costs of reshipping empty beams from the yarn user to the yarn manufacturer or supplier are also based on the volume of each beam and the volume taken up by each beam when the flanges or heads are attached to the barrel is considerable, the reshipment costs tend to become prohibitively high.

Referring again to the weight question, it has been proposed in some of the known beam constructions to reduce the overall weight of each beam by reducing the thickness of the associated flanges or heads. This expedient, however, in solving one problem brought about another and more troublesome one, in that it was found that the reduced thickness flanges were no longer strong enough, during a yarn-Winding operation, to withstand the tremendous lateral pressures exerted thereon by the yarn being wound on the beam. These flanges were subject to considerable deflection and distortion and sometimes even broke during winding operations, resulting in substantial losses of time, labor, money and, of course, yarn. Attempts were made to rectify this defect by the provision of ribs, grids and other reinforcing structures on the beam flanges, but these proved unsatisfactory inasmuch as they increased the weight thereof and of the complete beam.

In this connection, too, it has been found that the lateral pressures exerted by the fully wound yarn on the beam flanges after the winding operation has been completed are often sufficient to cause warping or distortion of the flanges and/ or the barrel to such an extent as to render the same unfit for further use. The reason for this is apparently the fact that in the known constructions no means are provided for enabling the flanges to yield slightly under these pressures.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a novel construction for a light-weight warp or tricot beam which enables the heretofore encountered disadvantages and drawbacks of known beams to be eflicaciously overcome.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beam construction which is characterized by an extremely low weight and by a novel and greatly simplified manner of mounting the flanges or heads on the barrel for the purpose of facilitating connection of the flanges to and disconnection of the flanges from the barrel.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of warp beams as aforesaid with flanges or heads the thickness of which decreases from the barrel circumference radially outwardly, in conjunction with means for completely rigidifying the flanges during yarn-winding operations.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of warp or tricot beams in which the flanges or heads have a limited amount of play axially of the barrel at all times except during a winding operation.

Concurrently, it is also an object of the present invention to provide a beam-supporting arbor for use during yarn-winding operations, which arbor is equipped with at least one pair of flange-engaging face plates adapted to be clamped against the respective flanges during winding operations so as to impart to the flanges the desired structural rigidity and resistance to deflection.

The foregoing and other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become fully clear from the following detailed description thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a warp or tricot beam constructed in accordance with the present invention, one of the flanges or heads of the beam being omitted to illustrate some of the constructional details of the beam barrel;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the beam shown in FIG. 1, the view being taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded side view of an arbor adapted to be employed, in accordance with the present invention, for supporting the beam shown in FIG. 1 during a yarnwinding operation, the face plates being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a flange-engaging face plate adapted to be mounted on the arbor shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a beam as shown in FIG. 1 mounted on and clamped to the arbor shown in FIG. 3 preparatory to a winding operation.

Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 of the drawings, it will be seen that a warp or tricot beam 10 according to the present invention comprises a tubular barrel 11 and a pair 3 .i v of annular flanges or heads 12 connected to the opposite ends thereof. Both the barrel 1 1 and the flanges 12 are made of very light-weight metal, preferably aluminum or aluminum alloys. The connections or joints between the barrel 11 and the flanges 12 are effected by means of a pair of ring members 13 positioned in the barrel end regions and welded, as shown at 13' and in a manner still to be described, to a plurality of metal discs or plugs 14 located, respectively, in a plurality of peripherally spaced openings or holes 15 formed in the barrel adjacent the.

opposite ends thereof, Although'in the iliustrated em-, bodiment of the invention the barrelis provided with six such openings adjacent each end, spaced from one another 60, it will be understood that different numbers of the openings 15 may be provided. The openings =15 are formed by stamping the discs or plugs 14 directly from the barrel 7 axial aperture 16 at two diametricallyopposed points of which are provided slots or keyways 16a. The flange 12 is. further provided at its inner face 12d with an annular projecting ridge 12e substantially at. thevv juncture between the sections 12a and 12b, the ridge 12e merging into the section 12a by means of a slanted or beveled surface 12f which also reinforces the central portion of the flange. The

radial thickness of the ridge 122 is equal to that of the there is provided a special arborconstruction which will barrel wall and the inner and outer diameters of the'ridge from the flat face 12d so that this line of joinder can be covered, as described more fully hereinafter.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the flange is attached to the ring member 13 by means of a plurality of cap screws 17. The ring member 13 is substantially cup-shaped and comprises an annular web portion 18 provided with a central opening 19, and a peripheral flange portion 20 ex- The I l as, the amount of axial playof the plugs 14 in their respective holes 15. From' the foregoing it will be understood that the ring member 13, although'permanently attached to the barrel 1 1, can move limited distances axially of the barrel, as a result of which the flange 12,.When' aflixed to the ring member by means of the screws 17, can move similarly relative to the barrel. The purpose of this movement will be more specifically referred to hereinafter.

It will also be understood from the foregoing that, when it is desired to disconnect the flanges 12 from the barrel 11, for example either during storage of the beam when not in use or during reshipment thereof when empty from the yarn user to the yarnmanufacturer or supplier, it is 'merely' necessary to remove the cap screws 17..' This conmounting of. the flanges'on and demounting of the flanges.

from the barrel, iteffects a considerable reduction in the overallweight of the beampthereby rendering possible a substantial reduction in shipping costs as well as in capital outlay. In addition, even with the flanges removed there.

from, as during return of the empty. beam, the ends of the barrel are reenforced by the flange portion 20 of the ring member 13;" this is especially beneficial since it permits the barrel to be made of' ver'y thin'metal without fear of damage. V s

In accordance with another :aspectof the invention,

now be described inconnectionwith FIGSLS to 7.

- T'Referring firstto .FIGS. 3 and .4, it will be seen that the arbor 23 according to the present :invention comprises a tubular body 24 which is provided adjacent one end withexternal threads. 25. Adjacent its other end, the arbor body 24 carries an annular disc, or abutment plate 26 which is welded to the body 24' as shown at .27. At

two diametrically opposed locations the. arbor body 24 is provided with key ledges 28. which extend'from the abutment plate or disc 26 substantially up to the threads 7 25 at the other end of. the body 24. The threads 25 are tending substantially perpendicularly to the web portion 18.

p The flange portion 20 of the ring member 13 is welded,

as shown at 13,to the sixdiscs or plugs 14 which were stamped out of the barrel 11 during the formation of the openings or holes 15. For the purpose of .mannfac-' ture, it will be understood that after the barrel 11 has been formed, preferably by an extension ordrawing operation, and the holes or openings '15 cut thereinto, the ring members 13 are inserted into the opposite ends of the barrel.

The plugs 14 are then repositionedin their respective holes 15, whereupon they are welded to the respective peripheral edges-of the flange portions 20 of the ring members 13 from the interior of the barrel 11 by meansv of welding techniques which are wellknown and constitute no par of the present invention.

In order to ensure a 'secureconnection between the e flange 12 and the ring member 13, the web portion 18 of the latter is thickened at six locations 21 corresponding to the locations at which the cap screws 17 are to pass through the said web portion, Whereby'a betterholding surface for the screws is provided. The outermost face of the web portion 18 and the outer face of the flange portion 20.

adapted to receive a nut 29 whichzmay be hexagonal as shown or may be otherwise constructed, for example circular with peripherally spaced wrench indents or thelike. Although not so illustrated in FIG.-- 3, the arbor 23, is adapted to support a pair, of face plates 30 the purpose I of which is to engage the outer faces of thebeam flanges" 12 whenthebeam is mounted on. thearbor, as will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference to FIG.

7. Referring-now to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that each face-plate 30 comprises a rigid body "31 one face opening 34 to this end beingprovided at two diametrically opposed locations with a pair of key grooves 35.

The use and operation of the warp or tricot beam and thewinding arbor arrangement according to the present lnvention thus are as follows:

V In preparing for winding yarn onto the beam '10, assuming the latter to have been completed by the attaching thereto ofthe two heads or; flanges 12 through the intermediary of the cap screws 17, a first face plate 30, indicated at the left-hand side.of=FIG. 7 ,"is fitted onto the arbor body 24 with'the flat face 32 of the plate engaging the inner face of the abutment plate or .disc 26 which is weldedtothe arbor body at one end-of the latter. The beam 10, is now mounted on the arbor 23, with the keys 28'of the latter engaging in the keyways or' grooves 16a of the two beam heads or flanges 12. 'The beam is advanced onto the arbor untilthe outer face of the lefthand flange 12 fits snugly into and against the concave face 33 of the plate 30.

The second face plate 30, indicated at the right-hand side of FIG. 7, is now fitted onto the arbor 23 until its concave face 33 engages the mating outer face of the right-hand beam flange 12. The nut 29 is then screwed onto the threaded end region 25 of the arbor and tightened against the outer flat face of the plate 30. If desired, a lock nut (not shown) may also be screwed onto the threaded arbor region 25 and against the nut 29. At this point, therefore, it will be seen that the beam is securely clamped between the face plates 30 which in turn are securely clamped in position between the nut 29 and the abutment plate 26. Any possible axial play of the flanges and plugs inwardly of the barrel is now fully taken up.

The entire assembly of beam and arbor is now substantially ready for a winding operation and may be transferred as a unit to any suitable driving device adapted to rotate the arbor 23 and, through the intermediary of the keys 28 and keyways 16a and 35, the beam 10 at the selected wind-up speed. Only one further precaution need be taken in view of the fact that tricot yarns especially are generally very fragile and subject to being nicked and damaged by coming into contact with unrounded edges or by being caught and snagged in cracks or the like. To avoid this possibility, a strip of very thin masking tape or the like, indicated schematically at 36 in FIGS. 1 and 7, may be wound about the barrel 11 at each end region thereof so as to cover the gaps formed between the barrel ends and the flange ridges He and between the discs or plugs 14 and their respective holes or openings 15. The tape should be of such a character that its outer face is completely smooth and devoid of adhesive, so as to prevent any possibility of the yarn sticking thereto, and the tape should also be so thin as to bring about no appreciable increase in the outer diameter of the barrel 11 at the end regions thereof.

From the foregoing it will be understood that as yarn is wound onto the beam 10 during rotation of the latter, this yarn, even though it will exert considerable lateral pressures against the beam flanges 12, will be unable to displace the latter axially of the barrel due to their being clamped between the face plates 30. Moreover, inasmuch as the face plates together with their respective beam flanges 12 constitute a pair of substantially rigid and inflexible units, the beam flanges will not be bent or distorted in any way regardless of the magnitude of the lateral pressures. exerted by the yarn during the winding thereof onto the beam 18.

When the winding operation has been completed, the beam and arbor combination is removed from the winding mechanism, whereupon the nut 29 is unscrewed and the adjacent face plate 30 removed from the arbor 23, so as to permit the beam to be slid off the arbor and transferred to a storage or shipping location. As this is done, it will be understood that the wound yarn still exerts considerable pressures on the beam flanges. If these flanges, therefore, were unyieldingly attached to the barrel 11, they might be distorted and rendered unfit for further use and possibly even to such an extent as to seriously damage the yarn wound onto the beam. It is this potential defect which is avoided in accordance with the present invention by the provision of the slight amount of play between the plugs 14 and their respective holes or openings 15. Thus, as soon as the first face plate is moved away from its associated beam flange 12, the yarn forces the two flanges 12 axially outwardly of the barrel for a short distance, whereby the compression of the yarn between the beam flanges is relaxed somewhat, which reduces the lateral pressures exerted by the yarn so as to inhibit any possibility of distortion of the beam flanges.

As hereinbefore indicated, the fully wound beam 10 will weigh considerably less than any of the known beams wound with an equivalent amount of yarn, due to the reduced weight of the beam flanges and due to the elimination of complicated and bulky flange-attaching devices and the use in lieu thereof of the small and light-weight cap screws 17. Since a very thin, light-weight barrel may be used when operating in accordance with the invention, much of the weight is in the flanges and the reduction in flange weight results in a significant reduction in the weight of each beam. Furthermore, when a number of empty beams are to be reshipped by the yarn user to the yarn supplier or manufacturer, the flanges may be very easily removed from the associated beam barrels by simply removing the cap screws 17, as a result of which the barrels 11 and flanges 12 can be stacked and shipped independently of one another and take up a combined volume which is substantially less than the volume which would be occupied by all the beams together if the flanges were not removed therefrom.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A light-weight warp beam, comprising a tubular barrel provided adjacent its opposite ends with respective sets of holes spaced from one another peripherally of said barrel, a plurality of plugs arranged in said holes, respectively, with each of said plugs being slightly smaller than its associated hole so as to have a slight amount of play therein relative to said barrel, a pair of ring members positioned interiorly of said barrel at said opposite ends of the latter, each of said ring members being affixed to the associated set of said plugs, and a pair of yarn-engaging flanges each removably aflixed to a respective one of said ring members within said barrel.

2. A light-weight warp beam, comprising a tubular barrel provided adjacent its opposite ends with respective sets of holes spaced from one another peripherally of said barrel, a plurality of plugs arranged in said holes, respectively, with each of said pings being slightly smaller than its associated hole so as to have a slight amount of play therein relative to said barrel, a pair of ring members positioned interiorly of said barrel at said opposite ends of the latter, each of said ring members having an annular flange portion oriented axially of said barrel and afiixed to the associated set of said plugs, each of said ring members further having an annular web portion, and a pair of annular yarn-engaging flanges each re movably aflixed to said web portion of the associated one of said ring members, whereby said flanges are yieldingly connected to said barrel.

3. A warp beam according to claim 2, the means for removably affixing said flanges to said web portions comprising a plurality of cap screws, each of said web portions being thickened at each location where a cap screw passes therethrough.

4. A warp beam according to claim 2, each of said flanges comprising a center section and an outer section, said center section having a central opening therein pro vided with at least one axially extending keyway, said outer section decreasing in thickness radially outwardly of said center section, said center section being provided at that face thereof directed toward said barrel with a ridge the diameter of which equals that of said barrel and the surface area of said center section radially inwardly of said ridge being shaped complementarily to said web portion of the associated one of said ring members.

5. A warp beam according to claim 4, the height of said ridge relative to the named face of said flange center section being predetermined to leave between the same and the associated barrel end a gap which, at its maximum, is approximately equal to the amount of play of the associated plugs in their respective holes.

6. A warp beam according to claim 5, further com- *snugly surrounding the opposite end regions of. said barirel between said flanges to cover the gaps between said; ridges and the barrel ends and between said plugs and their respective holes. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS" 869,871 Barnes Nov. 5, 1907- 1,049,281 Sylvester Dec. 31, 1912 1,091,144 De Kleist Mar. 24, 1914 1,107,314

Kohler Aug; :18, 1914 8 King Oct. 6, 1925 Winslow' July 29, 1 941 Mueller Jan. 16, 1951 Bauer -1. Oct. 30, 1951- Bu'rlein Ian. 29, 1952 Paris Dec. 23, 1952 Huber June 15, 1954 Harris et a1. -Mar. 22, 1955 Harris Apr. 7, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS yGreat Britain of 1910 Great Britain of 1909 

1. A LIGHT-WEIGHT WARP BEAM, COMPRISING A TUBULAR BARREL PROVIDED ADJACENT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS WITH RESPECTIVE SETS OF HOLES SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER PERIPHERALLY OF SAID BARREL, A PLURALITY OF PLUGS ARRANGED IN SAID HOLES, RESPECTIVELY, WITH EACH OF SAID PLUGS BEING SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN ITS ASSOCIATED HOLE SO AS TO HAVE A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF PLAY THEREIN RELATIVE TO SAID BARREL, A PAIR OF RING MEMBERS POSITIONED INTERIORLY OF SAID BARREL AT SAID OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE LATTER, EACH OF SAID RING MEMBER BEING AFFIXED TO THE ASSOCIATED SET OF SAID PLUGS, AND A PAIR OF YARN-ENGAGING FLANGES EACH REMOVABLY AFFIXED TO A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID RING MEMBERS WITHIN SAID BARREL. 